Participating in the Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) increases Taiwan’s visibility and allows it to demonstrate its contributions to the international community, Taiwanese Premier Lin said today after a briefing by the Ministry of Labor (MOL) on the 2016 SEWF in Hong Kong.

Taiwan should develop its own unique social enterprises and set an example for the rest of the world, the premier said. He requested that the Ministry of Economic Affairs and other government agencies support and assist the development of domestic social enterprises, and also instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work with academia and private groups to help Taiwan host the SEWF in the future.

Noting that the SEWF is the world’s largest forum for social enterprises, the premier said that Taiwan civic groups set up a pavilion at this year’s forum as an international showcase for our country’s social enterprises, gaining experience and benefitting from sharing and exchanges that will help Taiwan’s social enterprises to grow.

According to the MOL, under the SEWF 2016 theme “New Frontiers, New Markets,” Taiwan attended three keynote speeches, eight plenary discussion sessions and 22 workshops, getting the latest updates on international social enterprises. Taiwan’s public sector representatives also actively interacted with the chair and members of the SEWF steering committee.

In addition to expressing Taiwan’s intent to continue attending future forums, the representatives spoke with representatives from the SEWF 2017 New Zealand organizing committee seeking a favorable reception for Taiwan’s event registration and pavilion, as well as speaker recommendations, the MOL said.

Taiwan’s efforts to promote social enterprises are not only consistent with international trends, but also encourage the private sector to be active in social causes, the ministry said. Dedicated to solving specific social problems, social enterprises can be self-sufficient commercial operations in the marketplace instead of relying on public donations alone, helping to create jobs, promote social welfare and ensure balanced social development.